Dress for you

London Calling

So I’ll be in London the weekend of May 24-25, and wondered: would anyone like to get together to do sewing-ish type things? Like, perhaps, a fabric crawl or a trip to the V&A, or both? I will 100% absolutely be going to Liberty, , and to the V&A, and should probably this time make it into more than one shop before closing time on Goldhawk Road …

Is there anything else I should do/see while I’m there? Usually I just wander around and marvel that EVERY SINGLE CORNER is right out of a book. I keep expecting to run into the , Crêpe Suzette, or Gabriel Syme …

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12 thoughts on “London Calling”

Oh what a shame, I would have loved to join you but I’m away. You must go to MacCulloch and Wallis which is only a short walk from Liberty.
Also, I have not been yet but hope to go to the Foundling Museum, where they have 5000 textile scraps which were pinned to the babies left there in the 18th c, but check before you schlep over there to see if the scraps themselves are on display. If not, you could order the book which looks thrilling from a textile point of view but also incredibly poignant:
I hope you have a wonderful time! This is a great time of year to be in London. When I left a couple of weeks ago my garden was exploding with every possible bud and leaf. Enjoy.

Awh pity you’re going to miss the huge meetup the weekend before!
Goldhawk really is the best, you can get there from the Goldhawk stop which is easiest access but longer on the tube, or Shepherds Bush which is a quicker tube but a 5min walk. Don’t leave it to Sunday! Basically all of the shops are shut, bar a couple of the not very good ones!

Berwick Street is near Liberty and has all the fancy fancy pants fabric shops 🙂 and in Liberty it’s like the 4th floor

punctured bicycle knows her stuff! I would second both her suggestions. A great book to read on the flight over (or back) if you haven’t already come across it, would be Things to Make and Mend by Ruth Thomas- not a “how to” book as it sounds, but a wonderful novel.
Amazon have got it and you can “look inside” to see if it appeals.
Have a wonderful time, and give London my love. I’m stuck in the country at the moment, waiting for my daughter to give birth to twins!

cottonkitty you are too kind. 🙂 Good luck and congrats in advance to you and your daughter.
Unfortch I think the scraps (or the more respectful ‘textile tokens’ as they are known) are on tour and presently at Colonial Williamsburg. But it may be worth a phone call in case the whole collection is not touring. x

Thanks for mentioning the V&A… (Victoria and Albert museum?) I’m going to London in August and will definitely have to put that on my list of places to check out! I’d love to check out fabric places as well, but I won’t be able to buy much fabric; I’ll be spending all my money on books!

Visit the Fashion museum on the South Bank. The floors alone are worth it. Did not check to see what is there right now but I saw a smashing exhibit on Horricks (sp?) dresses there a couple of years ago. Also too the Geffreye, Garden Museum and nip in to see what Central St Martins looks like. Did you know your wonderful “pretty” quote is floating around the web, attributed to DV herself? I am going to re-acquaint myself with your site so I guess that’s some slight reward!

When I was in London about 5 years ago, I enjoyed Jermyn Street, not far from Liberty, and a perfume shop that had lovely classic selections including an option to have a scent made for you alone. A nice addition to a fabric shopping trip; a few pretty soaps will scent your new purchases! The sewing selection in the Liberty store was limited at that time, but the store was fun to browse. If you possibly can, stay another day to have time to browse a little. The V&A gift shop was very nice, ditto the shop at the British Museum.